A nursing woman has many important tasks and responsibilities in the family, and health problems knock her out of the clear rhythm of life. One of these difficulties may be chest pain during feeding. What are the causes of this disease? How to improve your health and enjoy motherhood again? Today we will tell you why women have breast pain when breastfeeding, and how to deal with it.
Aching breasts in a nursing mother are not uncommon. Unfortunately, many women, plunging into the abyss of motherhood, forget about their own health, but the child also suffers from this. Pain after childbirth is always a wake-up call. Therefore, you should immediately begin to understand the reasons why your breasts hurt during feeding in order to immediately take the necessary measures. Here are some diseases that cause discomfort:
- lactostasis;
- vasospasm;
- candidiasis;
- nipple problems;
- poor attachment;
- hormones, etc.
These are the main reasons that may bother you, but we will look at each of them in more detail.
Lactostasis and mastitis
The term “lactostasis” refers to the overflow of the mammary glands with milk during lactation. It is associated with improper actions of the mother, namely: wearing tight clothes, poor diet and expressing milk too often. Typically, pain does not only occur during breastfeeding. In this case, to get rid of breast pain in a nursing mother, it is enough to express milk. But not too much, so as not to cause active formation of a new one. You need to learn to wear appropriate clothing and create a proper feeding schedule.
If mastitis is the cause of nipple pain during breastfeeding, your health is at risk. Mastitis is an infectious inflammation that causes severe chest pain in a nursing mother and develops extremely rapidly. The symptoms of this disease resemble lactostasis, but are more pronounced:
It is very important to stop this infectious process in time, so you should immediately contact a specialist.
Incorrect attachment
If the mother is inexperienced, then most likely she will be faced with the fact that no one will teach her how to properly attach her baby. Unfortunately, most girls begin to feed by pinching their nipples, as a result of which the milk does not flow freely and it becomes painful to breastfeed. To solve this problem, it is important to perform breastfeeding correctly: in a lying position from under the arm, giving the baby the whole mammary gland.
Hormones
If your breasts hurt when feeding, perhaps it’s all about hormonal changes in the body, namely the production of oxytocin. It stimulates the glands to secrete milk, and in the first days after childbirth, secretion increases, which automatically causes pain in the nipples during breastfeeding. The release of this hormone in some mothers can be activated even by the thought of breastfeeding, for which we can say “thank you” to our animal ancestors.
“If in the first days your chest hurts during breastfeeding, but none of the listed reasons suits you, then just wait a while until the problem resolves itself.”
Candidiasis
Sometimes the reason why nipples hurt when breastfeeding can be thrush. This is a very serious problem, and during lactation it is completely unnecessary. Signs that you have candidiasis may include:
- cracks in the nipple;
- swelling and scaliness of the nipples;
- shooting pain in the nipples during feeding, radiating to the back or shoulder;
- irritation and dryness.
Thrush is a disease caused by fungi of the genus Candida (hence the name - candidiasis), which a nursing mother will definitely pass on to her baby. To eliminate this problem, you do not need to deprive the baby of breastfeeding, but you need to use special ointments and solutions to wipe the baby’s mouth. Long-lasting thrush invariably leads to another disease - mastitis, but this will be more dangerous. And if, in addition to pain during breastfeeding, the mother begins to feel a rise in temperature, she should immediately consult a doctor.
Vasospasm
Sharp, burning and throbbing pain in the chest during breastfeeding indicates a narrowing of the vessels of the mammary gland - vasospasm. It is accompanied by pale skin, the nipples harden during feeding, and the mother experiences acute pain when touched. Vasospasm usually appears at the very beginning of feeding, when lactation is just beginning to work in the mother’s body.
It is impossible to say exactly why a nursing mother’s breasts hurt during spasms, but here are some possible reasons:
- the baby is not attached to the mother correctly;
- spasm of the ducts develops;
- nipples are often pressed and squeezed;
- the mother's body temperature changes sharply;
- Breast tissues dry out after many washings with aggressive soap.
What to do if your breasts hurt when feeding due to vasospasm? You need to learn how to properly put your baby to the breast, properly clean the areolas, and monitor your general condition.
Cracked and other nipple problems
Another reason why breasts hurt during breastfeeding may be problems with the nipples themselves. Small and deep wounds prevent the mother from feeding the baby normally, and if the nipples hurt, then cracks have probably formed. Well, they can appear for various reasons:
- You are feeding your newborn baby incorrectly. In this case, you receive mechanical injuries when the baby sucks in milk.
- If you get an infection, your nipples may be susceptible to candidiasis or a staph infection. Then your breasts hurt during feeding and between feedings.
- If you don't take good care of yourself, you can dry out the skin of the areola, removing the protective lubricant that the mammary glands produce from the surface. To prevent your breasts from getting sore, you should not wash them after each feeding. Unfortunately, in this case, microorganisms may begin to develop in the breast of a nursing mother if the integument is damaged.
- When you abruptly end your guard. In this case, the baby sucks on the nipple and does not want to tear itself away from it, and due to the mechanical impact, pain occurs during breastfeeding. To prevent this problem from interfering, you need to place your finger between the nipple and the baby’s mouth and carefully wean the baby, giving him a pacifier straight into his mouth.
- Nipples hurt during feeding and after unsuccessful use of a breast pump. If you express milk carelessly, you can mechanically damage the areola. During the lactation period, the mother sometimes has an excessive amount of milk, but she begins to express too often, which leads to tissue damage.
Nipple shape
Sometimes a nursing mother's breasts hurt if she has an unnatural nipple shape. Inverted, flat and extremely large nipples are considered unsuccessful, because this is the cause of poor passage of milk through the glands. Experts practically do not know what to do if breasts hurt during feeding precisely because of their irregular shape. It is important to prepare nipples before giving birth to avoid problems in the future.
Why can breasts hurt without breastfeeding?
We figured out why breasts hurt during feeding, but the mammary glands can bother you regardless of breastfeeding. Here are some possible factors that may cause breast pain for a nursing mother:
- If the mother of an infant wears an uncomfortable bra. In the breast, during feeding, the mammary glands should be normally stimulated, and they should not be squeezed by cups and seams on the sides. If you can’t purchase specialized underwear, then buy the loosest possible ones.
- The baby's nutrition will be painful during the menstrual period. Unfortunately, it is impossible to get rid of this reason, and to prevent the glands from hurting, you can use painkillers and special ointments.
- If you have been diagnosed with fibrocystic mastopathy, then this may be the reason why your breasts hurt during lactation. And although the chances of lactostasis increase, you should not refuse breastfeeding in this case.
Conclusion
It is important for newborn children to receive timely and balanced nutrition, and therefore the mother needs to not only recover quickly after childbirth, but also try not to get sick during the lactation period. After all, the baby doesn’t understand whether it’s painful for mom to breastfeed or not, the main thing is not to go hungry. Don’t neglect your health, because now your baby only needs you alone.
What to do if a nursing mother has breast pain, should she immediately consult a doctor and are there any traditional methods of treating this ailment? Let's start with the fact that such a symptom almost always means the formation of lactostasis in the mammary gland.
Most young mothers know that lactostasis is stagnation of milk, during which the nursing mother’s breasts hurt, local compaction appears, sometimes quite large, and body temperature rises (when measured in the armpit).
Some have experienced this personally. The appearance of lactostasis can be prevented! There are only a few rules to follow.
1. Monitor your breasts closely. If lumps, lumps, or swelling appear, you need to massage your breasts until they disappear completely. This should be done with clean hands, moving in a circle towards the areola of the nipple. If the lumps do not go away, you need to consult a mammologist.
2. Don’t be afraid to express if necessary. If the baby has “eaten” only one breast, but the other remains full, and you feel discomfort, then you definitely need to pump a little. Especially when the chest area hardens. If your chest hurts during breastfeeding, this is not the norm, and you should not endure the discomfort.
3. If possible, avoid underwire bras., compressive and tight-fitting models. It is best to wear so-called sports bras or tank tops. Or you can have bras specifically designed for use during lactation. The main thing is to choose the right size. Underwear should never be tight.
4. Keep your chest warm. A cool breeze that you don't pay attention to can easily chill your chest. The situation when a nursing mother's breasts are blown out is quite common.
5. Do not pump unnecessarily. This can easily cause hyperlactation, which sooner or later will lead to lactostasis. Remember that the more milk is “consumed”, the more it is produced. You should not deceive your body. Let him produce exactly as much milk as the baby needs.
6. Offer the breast to the baby one at a time. You cannot feed one breast twice in a row, leaving the other full. Especially during night feedings. The situation when a breastfeeding woman has pain in her breasts is very often associated with this error.
7. It is undesirable to sleep on your stomach during the period of establishing lactation (up to 4 months of the baby). The milk ducts can be compressed, obstructing the flow of milk. It is also undesirable to somehow hold the mammary gland while feeding the baby, since in this way it can be crushed and provoke the development of an inflammatory process, the characteristic distinguishing signs of which are chest pain and fever in the nursing mother.
Follow these 7 rules and breastfeed without lactostasis! But this is only prevention. But what to do if the problem has already arisen, if a nursing mother has a sore breast, and there is no opportunity to visit a mammologist or gynecologist right away?
In this case, you need to try to get rid of the seal. The best way to do this is with the help of the child, offering him the breast more often. Moreover, apply it correctly, the child’s chin should be turned towards lactostasis.
Among the folk remedies you can use baked onions. Just apply it to the mammary gland and insulate it with something on top. Someone uses another well-known folk remedy for the same purpose - cabbage leaf. Camphor oil also gives a good effect. After compresses, it is easier to strain lactostasis.
The lactation process has many subtleties. And to ensure that it proceeds most favorably for you and your baby, keep in touch with a lactation consultant. He will tell you why your breasts hurt when breastfeeding, how to get rid of lumps, give advice, and advise on the prevention of mastitis.
Breast pain in a nursing mother is not such a rare occurrence. The causes and manifestations may vary, as well as the intensity of pain. In no case should you tolerate it without knowing the reasons why it appeared, since pain during lactation can indicate a serious illness. We need to find out what happened and take appropriate measures. The consequences of ignoring pain can be very serious.
Possible causes of pain:
- improper grip;
- tides;
- lactostasis;
- mastitis;
- cracked nipples;
- thrush;
- vasospasm.
Physiological pain
During lactation, especially during the period of its establishment after childbirth, the breasts may hurt if the mother for some reason did not feed the newborn for a long time. This can be treated by simply putting the baby to the breast. Nature thus reminds the mother that it is time to feed the baby.
The flow of milk in the first time after childbirth can also give painful sensations in the form of burning or tingling.
These phenomena are most pronounced after the birth of the first child. The tingling intensifies if you drink something hot before feeding: tea, compote or broth. Hot flashes can occur several times during feeding or pumping. But over time, the breasts become less sensitive. All that remains is a slight tingling sensation. Some people even find it pleasant.
So in most cases, the answer to the question “Why do my breasts hurt after childbirth?” simple - it is configured for feeding a newborn. 
Cracked nipples
If your nipples hurt when breastfeeding, this is most often due to cracks in them. Unfortunately, this problem during lactation is familiar to many. And for some, cracks form already in the maternity hospital.
When a baby begins to suckle at the breast, he uses his tongue and gums to influence the delicate skin of the nipple and areola, which is not yet accustomed to it. Gradually, the skin will become rougher, and a callus will form on it, allowing you to feed completely painlessly, naturally, provided that the feeding is correct. This takes from 2 days to 2 weeks.
At first, the nipple may crack a little, turn white, and whitish crusts may form on it. In order not to aggravate the situation, you need to properly care for your breasts from the first hours after birth. It is unacceptable to wash her with soap before each feeding. This dries out the skin very much. It is enough to take a regular hygienic shower 1-2 times a day. You should not smear your nipples with brilliant green, since any alcohol solutions also dry out the skin.
How to proceed:
- After feeding, walk with your chest open for some time.
- Wear soft underwear without tight seams, especially in the nipple area.
- Change pads regularly to prevent infections from occurring in them.
- Correctly attach the baby to the breast, make sure that the baby grasps almost the entire areola and does not slide onto the nipple during feeding.
If the baby latches onto the breast correctly, then there will be no severe pain during feeding even in the very first days after birth. If the baby slides onto the nipple and grabs it with the gums, then the appearance of cracks and severe pain during feeding are inevitable. If the cause of improper grip is the baby’s short frenulum, then it needs to be trimmed, if possible, then in the maternity hospital.
You need to wean your baby off the breast correctly. It’s better not to do this at all; the baby should let go of the breast on his own. But if suddenly for some reason you need to urgently stop feeding, then it is unacceptable to pull the nipple out of the baby’s mouth. This leads to the fact that he instinctively squeezes the gums and injures the nipple. You need to carefully insert your little finger into the corner of your mouth, gently unclench your gums, and only then pull out the nipple.
If cracks have already formed, then after feeding the nipple should be treated with a wound-healing agent, for example sea buckthorn oil or lanolin-based cream.
Thrush
Signs:
- cracks, despite treatment, do not heal;
- nipples look swollen and scaly;
- a woman has breast pain after feeding;
- sharp shooting pain radiates deep into the chest, back or arm;
- the areola becomes irritated and dry.
In the case of thrush, a fungus that lives permanently on the skin multiplies and affects the woman's breasts and the baby's mouth.
Treatment usually does not require stopping breastfeeding. The mother is prescribed ointments, and the baby is prescribed solutions for wiping the oral cavity. But in complex cases, serious antifungal therapy is required. If thrush is left untreated, it can lead to mastitis. A fever that rises against the background of thrush requires immediate medical attention. 
The cause of thrush can be antibiotics, vaginal yeast infection during pregnancy, long-term non-healing cracked nipples, chronic diseases, and constant washing of nipples with soap.
Lactotase
Another common cause of breast pain in a nursing mother is lactostasis. It occurs when milk does not come out of one lobe of the breast. It manifests itself as compactions that are easily palpated. Sometimes the temperature rises, which is an alarming symptom.
If you deal with lactostasis in time, you can cope with it literally within a day. And it will not leave any consequences. But slight pain when pressing on an already soft breast may persist for 2-3 days. But the temperature should not be maintained.
Causes of lactostasis:
- Most often it occurs when the intervals between feedings are too long. It is not for nothing that lactostasis in translation means stagnation of milk.
- If you limit the sucking time, for example, give the baby the breast strictly for 15 minutes, then he may not have time to properly suck the milk from the breast. The consequence is lactostasis.
- Sometimes it can occur due to the fact that the mother feeds in the same position. Then some lobules of the mammary gland are constantly emptied worse than others.
- If the mother sleeps constantly on the same side, then on this side, usually under the armpit, milk also stagnates. And this happens very often if co-sleeping is practiced, because a woman during breastfeeding usually sleeps all night facing her baby.
- Feeding the breast to the baby in the “scissors” position, i.e. between the middle and index fingers there is danger of congestion in the upper lobes of the chest.
- Too tight underwear also causes problems during lactation.
- Few people know, but lactostasis can be caused by monotonous mental work consisting of repetitive movements, for example, working with a vacuum cleaner or hanging laundry.
- Risk factors include general fatigue of the nursing mother and chronic lack of sleep.
- Using a pacifier leads to the fact that the baby begins to suck the breast worse and does not empty it completely. And this is a direct road to milk stagnation.
- Overeating fatty foods leads to an increase in milk viscosity, which increases the risk of stagnation.
- When the temperature outside begins to change sharply, the number of women with lactostasis increases. In such weather, it is worth paying special attention to the prevention of stagnation.
If a nursing mother discovers lumps in her breasts, she should immediately begin to eliminate them. Breast massage before feeding helps a lot. The baby needs to be applied in different positions to empty all the lobules of the mammary gland. Milk is sucked best from the lobes facing the baby's chin. Particular attention should be paid to the under-arm position, since it allows you to prevent or cure lactostasis in the lobules, where it forms most often. If the child cannot suck all the milk, then during the treatment of lactostasis it must be expressed.
You can use compresses to relieve swelling and dilate the ducts. They are made from cabbage leaves, honey cakes, and village cottage cheese. If the temperature rises above 39 degrees or lasts more than 2 days, then you need to consult a doctor.
The following method of combating lactostasis helps well:
- While standing under a warm shower, you need to express milk from the breast so that only lactostasis remains.
- After this, attach the baby to the breast in a position where the lower lip is facing the direction of the seal.
- After feeding, apply a cool compress to the breast.
This procedure quickly makes the breasts soft. It can be done up to 3 times a day, but no more. Pumping too often can cause you to produce too much milk.
Mastitis
Mastitis is an inflammation of the breast tissue. Accompanied by fever, redness on the chest, and pain when touched.
Lactostasis turns into uninfected mastitis if you do not pay attention to it. If there is a focus of infection: non-healing nipple cracks, caries, pyelonephritis, then infected mastitis may develop.
Mastitis is treated in the same way as lactostasis. But if the disease is infected, you may need to take antibiotics.
Vasospasm
If a woman’s breasts hurt after feeding and during it, the pain is throbbing, and the nipple turns white after feeding, then she may have vasospasm. It doesn't occur very often. Caused by a nerve being too close to the nipple. Most often it is a consequence of some primary problem, for example, thrush. And it is, of course, the cause that needs to be eliminated, not the effect. Dry heat helps relieve pain, while for some, cold helps.
The mother definitely needs to find out why her breasts hurt when feeding and solve this problem. The fact is that constant unpleasant sensations can lead to the fact that a woman cannot stand it and stops breastfeeding the baby. And in some cases, pain during hepatitis B, especially accompanied by fever, indicates diseases that pose a serious threat to health. Breastfeeding should be enjoyable for both baby and mother.
Breastfeeding a baby should bring joy and pleasure to a young mother. But often a woman has to deal with a number of problems, and breast soreness is no exception. Distinguish between physiological and pathological pain. But how can an inexperienced mother determine the nature of the pain and, due to her ignorance, not trigger the development of a serious illness?
Physiological and pathological breast tenderness: nature and causes
Pregnancy and lactation are accompanied by soreness of the mammary glands. This is usually due to the preparation of the breasts for feeding the baby and the production of the hormones prolactin and oxytocin. This is the so-called physiological pain that must be endured. But if the feeling of discomfort and soreness in the breasts is not associated with the processes of preparation for breastfeeding, and is also not caused by the natural reaction of the nipples to external stimuli, then you should sound the alarm. Since these are the first signs of pathological pain.
Table: Comparative characteristics of pathological and physiological pain in the mammary gland during lactation
| Disease of the mammary glands during lactation | Nature of pain, symptoms | Causes | Treatment |
| Physiological pain in the mammary gland | |||
| Breast tenderness associated with the production of prolactin and oxytocin in the first three months after childbirth |
|
|
|
| Breast pain due to cracks and abrasions on the nipples and areolas |
|
|
|
| Pathological pain in the mammary gland | |||
| Lactostasis - stagnation of milk in the milk ducts |
|
|
|
| Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland due to complications of lactostasis or infection through cracks in the nipples. |
|
| Treatment must be supervised by a physician and usually includes:
|
| Vasospasm is a sharp narrowing of the blood vessels of the mammary gland. |
|
|
|
| Thrush is a fungal infection that affects a woman’s nipples and the baby’s mouth. |
|
|
Only a doctor can make a diagnosis and prescribe the correct treatment. |
Laxtostasis is also popularly called “breast cold.” This is due to the fact that when the breast is overcooled, vasoconstriction occurs, and this leads to stagnation of milk.
While breastfeeding I encountered the problem of thrush. She didn’t immediately realize that it was she who continued to feed the child. Almost immediately, a white coating was discovered in the baby’s mouth; she began to refuse the breast and cry while feeding. Like an alarmist mother, she instantly made a soda solution, on the advice of my grandmother, and began to treat her daughter’s gums, tongue and cheeks. But at that moment I didn’t even think about the proportions of boiling water and soda. Naturally, she overdid it with her concern. As a result, gases formed in the baby’s body from an excess of soda. The child also suffered from colic all night.
To treat thrush in a child’s mouth, you need to dilute 1 teaspoon of baking soda in one glass of boiling water. Cool the solution to body temperature and treat the cavity with a swab after each feeding.
Photo gallery: breast diseases during lactation
Excessive secretion of the hormones prolactin and oxytocin causes breast pain in the first three months of pregnancy. It is almost impossible to avoid cracks in the first weeks of breastfeeding. Lactostasis is formed when milk stagnates in the milk ducts.
Mastitis may be accompanied by purulent discharge from the nipple Thrush is accompanied by significant sores and redness in the nipple area
Pain in the mammary gland after breastfeeding
Stopping breastfeeding is as long a process as preparing for it. Even with the development of medicine and pharmaceuticals, it is impossible to stop lactation in one day. When feeding a child, the body works on the principle of “supply and demand” and produces as much milk as the baby needs. Therefore, in order for weaning of a child from the breast to be as painful as possible for both mother and baby, it is necessary to approach this issue thoughtfully. It is very important to let the body understand that there is no longer a need to produce milk, and this should be done by gradually reducing the amount of milk consumption.
The process of weaning cannot be completely painless for a nursing mother. Especially in the first days of weaning, acute, burning pain in the chest area due to the flow of milk will bother you. To relieve pain and not develop lactostasis, it is necessary to periodically express the breasts, but not until they are completely empty. A cool shower on the chest area will narrow the blood and milk ducts, which will ensure a smaller volume of lactation. Taking the tincture is also a good help in stopping breastfeeding.
With the right approach and actions, the pain will gradually go away along with the amount of milk produced. After a week or two, the woman will forget about the pain, but the milk will not completely burn out during this time. Some women claim that even three months after weaning the baby, milk is released when the nipple is pressed.
Personally, I stopped lactation abruptly, without any medications or herbs. And again, this could not have happened without the advice of my grandmother. It was she who told me: “If you decide to stop breastfeeding, stop!” The child was one year old at that time, but two feedings per night were stable. And the baby demanded the breast not because of hunger, but because she was used to “hanging” on the chest. Therefore, the first two nights were especially difficult; during the daytime it was much easier. For the first three days I expressed little by little with a piston breast pump, then the need for this disappeared. The amount of milk secreted became less and less each time.
Lactation consultant Rada Melnikova compares breastfeeding with such natural processes for the body as eating, sex, and sleep. Therefore, lactation should bring nothing but pleasure to a woman. Enduring pain and discomfort, she says, is the wrong tactic for a nursing mother. It is necessary to look for the source that causes pain. Moreover, she claims that even when the baby is first applied to the breast, a young mother should not feel severe pain, only a feeling of discomfort. With proper latching of the nipple, the absence of pathological diseases of the mammary glands and the normal physiological development of the baby’s sucking apparatus, the feeling of discomfort and mild pain disappears 10 seconds after the start of feeding.
Rada claims that breastfeeding is the same natural process for a woman’s body as sleep
But breastfeeding specialist Maria Gudanova believes that for the most part the problem with breastfeeding lies in the psychological mood of the mother. If a young woman was deprived of love and care from her parents, then she cannot convey her love to her own child. In this case, the help of a psychologist is necessary. She also believes that all problems during lactation begin with the first incorrect attachment of the baby to the breast, accustoming the child to pacifiers and bottles with nipples. In order for closeness with your child to bring only joy, you need to feed the child on demand, and not by the hour, do not pump your breasts after each feeding, practice co-sleeping with your baby, and do not eliminate night feedings.
Many breastfeeding problems stem from the psychological mood of a young mother, says a breastfeeding consultant
Video: Doctor Komarovsky about breastfeeding
About 3 weeks ago there was a strong increase in temperature. Withdrawal. One lobe in the chest became denser. A day later everything went away. Everything was fine for a week. For the last two weeks, the pain has been appearing from time to time and the pain is severe, even from the touch of clothing. And when my son sucks, it hurts absolutely terribly. And it stings, and burns, and pricks. In my life I have fibrocystic diffuse mastopathy. I change feeding positions, the ones in which lumps appear are sucked out by the baby to the maximum. I did an ultrasound. The lymph node in the armpit is inflamed, there is congestion in the chest, the temperature is higher and the ducts are more dilated in the painful chest. But not critical. The worst thing is that the doctor said to stop lactation, because... such things can lead to mastitis or cancer. Prescribed tablets to stop lactation.
OlgaI
https://forum.materinstvo.ru/index.php?s=309bb0ed080a22f4c706b4d3b76aee27&showtopic=2224781
I recently had lactostasis, and so, the problem was that it was deep inside... and therefore did not go away for a long time and was expressed in a more superficial form. I pumped once (before 21-00 pm the main thing), i.e. I warmed it up for 10 minutes in the shower, pumped for 10 minutes, then put the baby to sleep, the position from under the armpits helped a lot, she sat in a Turkish position, put a pillow on one knee, re-feeded it, placing one hand under the baby’s head, supporting him (feet should be towards your back). Pain is not the most important thing - but redness is bad. I fed in this position for several days and everything resolved.
Dashenka.profi
https://www.u-mama.ru/forum/kids/0–1/108302/
Soreness of the mammary gland is not always a pathology and there is no need to sound the alarm ahead of time. But we also cannot approach this issue irresponsibly. The best adviser is a gynecologist or mammologist, whom you should contact at the first alarm bells, since self-medication is in any case unacceptable.
At all these stages, it is very important to listen to your body and synchronize it with the needs of the child; this is the only way to achieve something that will bring the joy of communication to both the baby and the mother. But there are times when mistakes in breastfeeding lead to breast pain for a nursing mother.
These symptoms should in no case be ignored, since the consequences may vary depending on the cause of the pain during feeding, as well as on the degree of neglect of the case. Let's look at the main reasons why a nursing mother has breast pain.
Cracked nipples
When a baby first introduces himself to the breast, it is very important to have the correct attachment, which will ensure the capture of not only the nipple, but also part of the areola and create pressure on the mammary gland necessary for lactation. Otherwise, when the baby grasps only the nipple, stimulation of the mammary gland does not occur and milk does not flow out. The child does not receive proper nutrition no matter how hard he tries, and at the same time, the elongated nipple is certainly injured. Cracks appear in the nipples during feeding, which hurt terribly and interfere with further attempts to attach the baby correctly. Moreover, if you skip feedings, milk stagnation will form in the breast, and this will lead to even more serious problems that will disrupt the woman’s plans for breastfeeding her baby.
To the reasons for the appearance of cracks, in addition to the incorrect position of the child and incomplete capture of the areola when sucking, one can also add unprepared nipples and prolonged feeding of the baby with a reduced sucking reflex. As a rule, cracked nipples occur in the early stages of breastfeeding, in the first week after childbirth. However, some women who complain to obstetricians that “I’m breastfeeding, my breasts hurt,” do not stop trying to establish breastfeeding and endure pain during the feeding process.
How to cure cracked nipples and reduce pain when breastfeeding
Treatment of cracked nipples takes from 2 to 3 days to a week, and the very next day the breast pain of a nursing mother is much less. To quickly heal the delicate skin of the nipple, the obstetrician can recommend various healing ointments that act only on the epithelium and do not penetrate into the blood and milk, for example Bepanten, Videstim, which are applied directly to the sore nipple after each feeding and washed off before it. In addition, for rapid healing, it is necessary to provide air space to the nipples, that is, do not wear too tight underwear and often open the crack for a few minutes a day.
Proper latching of the baby will not only speed up healing, but will eliminate one of the causes of cracked nipples. Therefore, during feeding, it is necessary to ensure that the baby’s lower lip is slightly turned outward and the chin is adjacent to the chest.
If breastfeeding is very painful, it is necessary to place the baby only on the healthy breast while the nipple is healing; if both nipples are damaged, use special silicone pads that distribute the load from sucking and partially relieve the sensation of pain. It is very important not to scream every time your baby touches the nipple with his lips, otherwise he may get scared and refuse the breast forever.
To prevent cracks, it is recommended to wipe the nipples with a terry towel during pregnancy, thereby making their surface rougher. Also, after each feeding, you can lubricate the surface of the nipple with a drop of “hind” milk, which has a good fat content and prevents thinning of the skin.
Breast lactostasis, causes and treatment
At the beginning of breastfeeding, when establishing lactation, the vast majority of women experience problems with stagnation of milk in the breast and blockage of the milk ducts, called lactostasis.
Many mothers, especially in the first two weeks after childbirth, when lactation is just getting better, come with complaints like this: “I’m breastfeeding, my breasts hurt.” You can cope with such a problem on your own, but before that you should definitely consult with an obstetrician-gynecologist, since the cause of pain during or between feedings may be inflammatory processes, and this is serious and subject to hospital treatment.
The cause of lactostasis is most often a woman’s inexperience in the intricacies of breastfeeding. Thus, blockage of the ducts can occur when wearing underwear that is too tight, not intended for nursing mothers, an incorrect feeding position that does not ensure the outflow of milk from all lobes of the gland, or non-compliance with the drinking regime. But, perhaps, the most basic and common cause of lumps in the mammary gland during breastfeeding is a relic of the past - expressing milk to the last drop. The thing is that a woman’s breasts are designed in such a way that milk does not accumulate in it, but is produced as needed. During the period of lactation, it is the baby’s need that determines how much milk to produce and after what period of time. If you continue to express milk after the baby has eaten, a signal is sent to the brain that the baby is still eating and milk continues to be produced. At the next feeding, milk will be produced in the amount that the baby sucked, plus what the mother expressed. Thus, pumping leads to the production of excess milk and provokes its stagnation in the milk ducts.
Symptoms of lactostasis:
- Feeling like a stone chest.
- Seals in the mammary glands.
- The skin of the breast in the areas of compaction becomes hot.
- Painful sensations when feeding the baby.
- Slight increase in body temperature.
Methods for treating lactostasis
Regardless of whether breastfeeding with lactostasis is painful or tolerable, and this was and remains the only way to get rid of milk stagnation. In order to alleviate the pain from the feeding process, before this it is necessary to express the breast a little, thereby reducing the flow of milk so that it is easier for the child to cope with his task and resolve stagnation. It is also useful, which is carried out along the perimeter of the breast with circular massaging movements and also helps to eliminate blockage of the mammary gland.
Experts also recommend taking a warm shower before feeding, which relieves swelling in the chest, and in between feedings you can use a cabbage leaf compress, which must first be lightly beaten and lubricated with honey. This compress perfectly relieves inflammation and promotes the resorption of lumps and lumps in the mammary glands.
With a timely and correct approach to solving the problem of blocked ducts, you can get rid of the problem on your own in 2 to 3 days. In the event that, in addition to the breast pain of a nursing mother, the temperature rises and purulent discharge flows from the nipple, it is necessary to urgently contact a medical facility.
Mastopathy during breastfeeding is not an obstacle to lactation, however, in places of adhesions, the ducts are often blocked and lactostasis occurs, so mothers who have such problems are advised to put the baby to the breast more often and change its position during feeding, so that all lobes of the mammary gland are emptied .
Mastitis during breastfeeding
Mastitis during breastfeeding occurs when the milk ducts become inflamed due to exposure to bacteria and fungi. In 80% of cases of mastitis, the predisposing factor was the presence of lactostasis, and only in 20% was the cause of an infection spread through the blood or lymph, the source of which was located inside the body (caries, pyelonephritis, inflammation of the genitourinary system).
The symptoms of mastitis practically coincide with the manifestations of blockage of the milk ducts, but in addition, the inflammatory process caused by an infection of bacterial or fungal origin contributes to an increase in temperature to critical levels, as well as a manifestation of general intoxication of the body. It should be noted that after pumping, the woman’s condition does not improve, as happens with lactostasis.
Whether it is possible to breastfeed with mastitis will depend on the degree of development of this disease, as well as on the methods of treatment. Thus, acute or serous mastitis is an indication for the use of antibiotics, which precludes breastfeeding, however, during the period of their use, you can express milk in order to prolong lactation and feed the baby after finishing taking antibiotics. In case of purulent or infiltrative mastitis, surgical intervention is indicated to cleanse the mammary glands from infiltrate and pus; as a rule, lactation is not restored after this.